Acknowledgments

No one accomplishes anything on his or her own. This book, these ideas, are not mine alone. I contributed and I molded. But the credit for the content of this book goes to the 150+ professionals who have built Exec|Comm LLC over the last 35 years, led by Rich McKay and Judy Thompson McKay, the firm's founders. Like all collections of co-workers, we have sat at meetings recounting “war stories” and examples to help new people at the firm understand our impact and our culture. In our case that means understanding how to help others express themselves more simply and clearly. Through the wisdom, humor, patience, and caring of current and former Exec|Comm'ers, we have been able to serve our clients' needs to develop their teams. For everyone who ever said about the stories that arose at work, “We could write a book about what goes on here!” this one's for you.

Huge thanks are also due to our clients. Our business has grown because of your faith in the quality of our service. You trust our consultants will hear your needs and design great programs for you. You know our facilitators will deliver quality training experiences in the classroom, in person, or virtually. You value that our support staff will make the logistics work seamlessly. We appreciate the opportunity to serve you and never lose sight of the fact that meeting your needs is the only reason we exist as a company.

We especially thank those clients who responded to our survey to help us pick a title for this book. Simply Said was your pick by a wide margin. Thanks. Good show.

Our Marketing Team, led by Exec|Comm partners Karen Rodriguez and Joe Rigney, have worked tirelessly on the logistical aspects of producing this book and bringing it to the attention of the business community. Thanks for your dedication to helping the firm share its message with the world.

Finally, thank you to Wendy Fried and Jen Sabin, our editors, and Lia Ottaviano of John Wiley & Sons for working with us on this project. Your contributions have been invaluable.

Exec|Comm Partners

Karen Diaz

Carmen Goitia

Christine Healey de Casanova

Jun Medalla

Joe Rigney

Karen Rodriguez

Jim Sterling

Jay Sullivan

Exec|Comm Professionals Who Contributed Stories for This Book

Lisa Bennis, Former Managing Partner

Christine Healey de Casanova, Partner

Rachel Lamb, Consultant

Doug MacKay, Consultant

Jun Medalla, Partner

Dianne Nersesian-Maguire, Facilitator

Joe Rigney, Partner

Sean Romanoff, Consultant

Heather Segal, Managing Director

Jim Sterling, Partner

Dan Vicente, Manager

Our Marketing Team

Rachel Lamb

Doug MacKay

Colleen McCabe

Joe Rigney

Karen Rodriguez

Sean Romanoff

Dan Vicente